Yesterday Tanya and I stopped by Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach. We were in Long Beach for the Chocolate Blues & Networking Festival and I knew there were a couple brewpubs in the area, so I figured after a long day of work a nice flight would be a good way to end the day. I recently met one of the bartenders at a local event and Dave over at Select Beer always speaks highly of Beachwood, so I decided to head over. I will be honest, as we worked our way over there I told Tanya there is no way that I would drive here “just for a beer” as it is kind of out of the way for us, but I would soon changed my tune.
Beachwood BBQ is a little difficult to find as the address is 210 E. 3rd Street, but it faces Promenade. They have some small sandwich boards if you are walking by, but if you are westbound on 3rd, you need to know where it is. We were greeted by Ian’s big smile so we seated ourselves at the bar. Their flights are four of their brews, and since they had a total of nine available, we decided to each get a flight so we could try everything they made. We were both very impressed. We tried the Mandarin Dream, Unconditional Blonde, Alpha Master, Knucklehead Red, Thrill Seeker, The Dominator and three versions of the Udder Love; CO2, nitrogen and cask. Tanya really liked the Knucklehead Red and I found all of their IPA’s very nice and hoppy. We ended up bringing a growler of the Mandarin Dream home as it is a Saison and we have both become suckers for them.
We were introduced to Dave who took me in the back to see their setup and to explain the flux capacitor system you see pictured. It is all to regulate gas pressures and is a very cool setup. Every keg is tied into it. For those unaware, different gas pressures can really change the beer as can the difference between CO2, nitrogen and cask. They also store their beers at different temperatures so you do not have to wait for the Belgian Quad to warm up so you can get the true flavor.
They are celebrating their first anniversary on July 7, and something about that did not make sense to me. I knew I had been to Beachwood in Seal Beach before and it was longer than a year ago, so I called them today to get the scoop. Turns out Seal Beach was the first location, but they were a BBQ that specialized in American and foreign craft beers. A year ago they opened the Long Beach location and started brewing their own. I have to say, they did a great job. I know I will be stopping by again before too long.
